1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blocks used in creating landscaping walls. More particularly, this invention relates to blocks which can be used to create a curved and/or a straight wall such that the wall has a substantially similar appearance on both the front and back sides thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Historically, there have been two types of landscaping walls: retaining walls and edging walls, both of which could be straight and/or curved. Retaining walls, which typically are exposed on only one side thereof, are easily designed so that the visible side is visually appealing. By way of contrast, edging walls typically are exposed on both sides thereof and, therefore, the owner must be concerned with the visual appearance of both sides of the wall.
To create a curved edging wall, oftentimes, straight blocks (also referred to as “stones”) were angled with respect to each other. Unfortunately, as a result of this angling, one side of the wall would have grooves (often wedge or pie shaped) between the blocks whereas the other side of the wall would have no such grooves. As a result, the overall appearances of the front and back sides of the wall would be substantially different.
To solve this problem, curved blocks have been designed which create curved walls having front and back sides which appear substantially the same. However, when these blocks are arranged linearly (to create a straight wall), one side of the wall displays grooves between the blocks whereas the other side of the wall has no such grooves, i.e., these curved blocks have the same problem as the aforementioned straight blocks. As a result, these curved blocks can not be arranged to create a straight wall having front and back sides having substantially similar appearances.
To create a wall having curved and straight portions and having front and back sides which appear substantially similar, an owner had to purchase blocks having two different shapes, one for the straight portions and the other for the curved portions. Moreover, this required manufacturers to invest in costly molds to create both types of blocks.
Accordingly, what is needed is a block which: (a) can be used to create a curved and/or a straight wall; and (b) is designed so that a curved and/or straight wall incorporating a plurality of the blocks will have the same general appearance on the front and back sides thereof.